Martin: "I thought we were competitive, I thought we played well"

Speaking after his team had lost 1-0 to Leyton Orient on Saturday, Chesterfield manager Martin Allen was upbeat when talking about how “competitive” the Spireites were.

He said: “The performance I thought was one of the best performances we’ve had so far this season.

“We were good with the ball. I thought we were competitive, I thought we played well.

“The last goal we conceded with 12 minutes to go, I suppose we could’ve defended that better, but I’ll have to look over that again.

“Overall I would say it was a much-improved performance, I enjoyed watching it that’s for sure. I enjoyed the physical tenacity that we showed to be competitive.”

Although Chesterfield did dominate for long periods, especially in the first half, they couldn’t take their chances. The boss commented on how important it is to convert the side's dominance into goals.

Allen said: “We never managed to take those chances, and of course if you don’t get the goals when you are on top, against what is a decent team, they will strike.

“With their long throws, free-kicks, and corners, which they are good at. They do pin you back in your box if you allow them, but we defended those very well.

“So to concede that goal is a hard pill to swallow when the players have given everything.”

After a fifth defeat in a row, the manager stated that he understands how the fans must be feeling. He commented: “I can fully understand their feelings. I thought they were very good today, I thought they got behind the players.

“They recognised when we played some good stuff. I thought they recognised that we were very competitive and tried to play good football.”

Jerome Binnom-Williams returned to the starting line-up, after serving a three-match ban. After the game, Allen was positive about the left-sided player’s performance.